Tens of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders gathered yesterday to honor their war dead, attending somber dawn services and thronging veterans parades to remember those who fought.
ANZAC Day commemorations are held each year on April 25 to mark the anniversary of the ill-fated landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in World War I.
Deputy Australian Prime Minister Wayne Swan said almost a century after the start of the Great War, the ANZAC tradition was stronger than ever.
“One need only look at the commemorations around the country to see the many young faces in the crowds,” he said in remarks at a dawn service in Brisbane, one of many held around the country.
“It is the one day of the year where we as Australians truly unite, where we come together as a nation of equals, no matter who we are, how old we are or where we’ve come from,” he added.
Veterans and their families thronged Sydney’s Martin Place for the dawn service, followed by a parade through the city streets in which about 20,000 serving and former military personnel were thought to have taken part.
Although no allied WWI soldiers survive, with the last combat veteran Claude Choules dying last year aged 110, spectators burst into spontaneous applause for the oldest war veterans as they were driven along George Street.
In Melbourne, tens of thousands braved bitter cold and rain to attend the dawn service and watch the march of veterans, among them 90-year-old Harold Ramsey, a former Japanese prisoner of war.
“I will march for as long as I can,” Ramsey told Australian Associated Press.
In Gallipoli, now part of -modern-day Turkey, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke at a moving dawn service that was broadcast live on Australian television.
More than 10,000 New Zealand and Australian servicemen died in the failed eight-month campaign on the peninsula and Gallipoli has become a defining symbol of courage and comradeship for the two nations.
“We remember what the ANZACs did in war,” Gillard said. “And for what they did to shape our nation in peace. In this place, they taught us to regard Australia and nowhere else as home.”
Later, Gillard told Australian reporters traveling with her that ANZAC Day struck the “deepest emotional chord for us.”
In New Zealand, about 3,000 people attended a service in Wellington at which the French Ambassador Francis Etienne, spoke of the importance of remembering Gallipoli, saying that France also lost more than 10,000 soldiers there.
“Enemies of a century ago have become the friends of today. This is the reason why it is so important to remember,” he said. “The worst of conflicts can lead to the most ... enduring peace.”
After the Sydney parade, the pubs of Australia’s biggest city overflowed, with many gathering to enjoy betting on two-up, a coin toss game once popular with soldiers and which is only legal on ANZAC Day.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS